Fit Mom Maria Kang sent us an email over the weekend. This image is from her website, and it’s kind of perfect, isn’t it? She’s repurposed the classic 1943 wartime propaganda poster to promote her own fitness-based empire (or nonprofit, whatever). Don’t kid me and say she’s not gunning for an empire.

We first spoke of Maria’s big “What’s Your Excuse?” scandal. Last week we talked about how she went on CNN to discuss how she knows “fat people are unhealthy”. That not-so-graceful announcement followed a war of internet words between Maria and a lingerie company that dared to feature photos of all types of body types on its Facebook page. What bothered me most about Maria’s position was how she seems to readily assumes all skinny people are the picture of health — when we all know some people who are naturally thin and do not exercise. Maria also seems to believe all overweight people eat McDonald’s fried pies all day long and never work out. I tried to make the point that anyone who runs races will notice that a lot “heavier” people are both fit and fast, but I guess Maria overlooked that part.

I’m including a copy of Maria’s email. She’s upset at how we didn’t show all of the lingerie images that she was criticizing in the rant that got her banned from Facebook. I explained in this post how we couldn’t post those images because they were NSFW. We did link to the images, and your conclusions in the comments showed that most of you did view the photos. Maria insists that if people saw these images, they would definitely agree with her. Maria also says something about weighing over 100 lbs being unhealthy, but CB and I think that must be a typo, right? You never know with Fit Mom:

I recently saw your article regarding my controversy and I want to set the record straight.

- you most certainly can tell someone is unhealthy when they are obese and weigh over 100lbs. The images I saw are not represented accurately on your site. You can view the actual images Chrystal promoted here.

- I discussed the obesity crisis in America (and the normalization of it) in the deleted post. If you can take the time to read that, it was posted here.

I hope that you correct these mistakes because poor judgement [sic] is being casted on [sic] me without fully viewing the images of the obese (not just 30-40lbs overweight) that I saw. I, in no way, said they didn’t deserve to feel beautiful and sexy, I said based on my experiences (of being vilified for being a healthy every day mom) that we are normalizing a crisis, struggle with contradictions in our society and should encourage real, average people to be role models.

Thanks for considering my view point.

[Email from Maria Kang]

Hmm. I’m not sure what Maria really expects me to say. She’s polite in her letter but still clueless. I am not correcting our “mistakes” because I said nothing wrong. I guess she wanted me to link to the article on her website (which is a copy of what Facebook deleted), so okay. It’s linked. Maria seems to think if we all stare at those lingerie pictures long enough, we’ll agree with her. Maria thinks we’re judging her too harshly because we don’t understand what she’s saying. I’ll leave that open for interpretation.

Maria describes herself as a “healthy every day mom,” and I’m not saying that isn’t true. I do think she’s mistaken in describing herself as “average.” Sure she’s “real,” because all women and all body types are real. Most people do not have the time or the desire to work out for several hours per day. I don’t know how much Maria works out, but she admits in several places on her website she has suffered from eating disorders. I would hope that her experience with ED would make her more sensitive to influencing young girls towards a life of disordered eating and exercise. Starving to death is just as deadly as obesity-related medical conditions. I don’t think Maria sees it that way though.

On a related note, we had a reader (who is Kinesiology degreed and a certified personal trainer) request that we mention a few other trainers who offer up more healthful approaches to fitness. Namely Harley Pasternak at People and Hailey at LaineyGossip. Great suggestion.

She’s after attention, certainly. And perhaps she’s trying to parlay that into a fitness deal or something.

I say just ignore her (I know there is a certain hypocrisy in my saying that while responding to this thread). So she’s a fit woman – so what? There are many, many like her. My fitness classes are filled with women who have kids and are also in incredible shape. None of them feel the need to boast about it or publicize it to the media. Your body should be of interest to you and your significant other -otherwise, who cares?

This woman lives in my area. She is insufferable. I’ve had to deal with her rants blasting through my morning drive on the radio and ruining a perfectly delicious private drive and cup of joe. She is incredibly uneducated.

Let’s review: Her letter is riddled with incorrect grammar; 100 lbs is really only in the “healthy weight” area if you are a woman no taller than 5′ 1″. She spells judgment “judgement” (which I read as judgy-ment). “Casted” is not a word. She doesn’t know when to use a “.” and when to use a “,”. She considers herself “average”.

I have heard her sob song a million times over, and every time upon further inspection I find someone with an eating disorder. Eating disorders don’t “go away”. You don’t gain a few pounds and are cured. The disordered way of thinking continues and it is a daily struggle. As a result, these women are vicious toward those that they consider “overweight”. You see, they have fought hard to be a healthy weight, and the “if I can do it anyone can” mentality has crept into their minds and made them callous and lacking empathy toward others. These same people then start the “fat people are raising the cost of healthcare” argument and then play martyr with the “I’m only trying to help them understand how unhealthy their choices are” speech. Let’s be honest, no one give two hoots about someone on the internet being overweight, and Maria Kang is looking for a bit of celebrity, a few more clients (who likely have eating disorders and BDD as well) and more celebrity.

Maria Kang appears to have an 8th grade education. She isn’t too bright, and she is fixated on appearances. How is she anyone that I should strive to be like? I wouldn’t wish my daughter to be like her. I would rather my child be a little chunky but intelligent and deeply empathetic and loving than be living daily with a belief that she were being martyred for her good looks and her “healthy” body. This woman is a symptom of a disease, not a picture of the cure.

Maria, if you are reading this, get off the radio. You have ruined my morning drive one to many times.

@bluebear, while I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, I’d also like to point out that not everyone with an eating disorder is critical of others. I’ve struggled with exercise anorexia, orthorexia and BDD since I was 18 and I’m too worried about how I look to criticize others. At times I do compare myself to other women, but it’s only to point out to myself how they are thinner, younger, more attractive etc. I guarantee you I can find something beautiful about almost everyone, and I usually do. Sadly, I’m often doing it and putting myself down in the process. So I ask you to please be sensitive to people with ED’s (whether it be anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive overeating ). There is a lot of self loathing involved in these disorders and most of us do not use it to make others feel less than.

Bluebear, I’ve struggled with anorexia (still do). I agree with you saying that disordered thoughts do not disappear when weight has stabilized. But I have never been as mean to other as I was to me. I’d never be overly critical, openly hurtful or bodyshaming to anyone axcept for me, never. As Morticians said, I can see beauty in everyone and I’d never think of myself as prettier, more disciplined, tougher or smarter than anyone.
Being anorexic doesn’t neccessarily turn you into a horrible person- I guess she was one before.

(Actually, Morticians summed it up perfectly- just wanted to add my 2 cents)

@Kate: Yup, I’m in the sac area and this chick is a constant annoyance.

@morticians and valois: My sincerest apologies if it sounded as though I mean that ALL people struggling with ED feel and act the way that Maria Kang does. That is not at all true. What I was attempting to convey, and should have clarified (but often when we type we think others can hear what we mean without fully explaining) that when someone does speak as Maria Kang has, I always find upon further inspection that that person has and does struggle with disordered thinking regarding food and body image. This is not the case of all people with ED. ED does not equal rude and judgmental behavior, but often rude and judgmental behavior toward the bodies of others is caused by the disordered mind of a person with ED.

Bluebear,no need to apologize. I totally get your point. Eating disorders do not bring out the best in people… I guess she was a self absorbed person before and something (her ED?) triggered that even more.
If she has an ED, than she’s still in the denial phase, which is far away from recovery… still don’t feel for her though.

This is my 3rd attempt to express my opinion, but I have no doubt the administrator is too gutless to allow it to be posted.
I couldn’t agree with Maria Kang more! For too long the likes of Oprah and her pet, Dr. Phil have been coddling America by convincing people they should “love themselves for who they are” and settling, rather than striving for more, thereby convincing Americans not to worry so much about their weight and health. BS! America has become the Land of the Lazy and the Home of the Fat Azzes. Let me tell you people something, there’s only a small fractional percentage having the excuse for being fat – obese due to either a medical condition or genetics. All this “Whaaaaaaah, don’t pick on me! I’ve got big bones!” or “You don’t know my life and how I don’t have time to exercise and eat right!” is a bunch of CRAP for the majority! And you all know it! Quite frankly, overweight – obese individuals should not only heed Kang’s advice and lead a healthier life, but also realize their lazy self serving ways affect medical costs and other issues of those around them. (Try having to sit in the middle seat on an airplane with a fatty on each side, smooshing you for the whole flight! Ridiculous!) Personally, at 55 yo I’m 15 lbs overweight, and for me that’s bad enough. I look at some of the embarrassingly gigantic lard azzes waddling around in stores in their frickin’ pajama bottoms and think to myself….Jesus H. Christ! What’s become of the pride and dignity that was once shared by the fellow American? You don’t think our people are much fatter today? Take a look at 40,000 sporting fans packed into any stadium back in the 1960′s or 70′s and compare their physiques to those of today. Wake up people. Folks like Maria Kang are not the enemy. McDonalds, Burger King, Jack in the Box, the FDA, the clothing industry (enlarging sizes and still calling it “medium” for your delusional peace of mind), the “warm & fuzzy” celebrities (including plus-size lingerie companies) telling you it’s OK to be big and unhealthy, to name a few are the ones you should be giving flack. But the biggest (no pun intended) reason you’re not more thin and healthy no matter what your age is because of YOU! How shamefully gutless it is for a group of overweight people to find a place where you can all band together and make each other feel good about being overweight, rather than saying to each other that maybe it’s not in your best interests to settle. Kang simply touched a raw nerve in some of you and instead of being honest with yourselves you’ve labeled her a foolish, uneducated women who is somewhat grammatically challenged? Well, I guess that would be the easier and comforting thing for some to do.

Alright Maria, you are famous now, we have given you enough attention. Hire a publicist and see if you can get a book deal or TV show or something with AOL. Capitalize on it but you have to admit that you were less than gracious in your approach in regards to health and fitness. You are fit, your body is great, but that doesn’t give you the right to be so obnoxiously judgmental towards other women, their shapes, or lifestyles.

@hehe
And that’s where you lost me.
Just because someone works out two hours a day doesn’t mean they don’t see or spent time with their kids. I agree she wants recognition from this, but i also see people work out and spend time with their children. My sister works out 1-2 hours a day and spends the rest of her time with her children. Don’t parentshame people enjoy fitness. It’s as bad as her fat shaming imo. Maybe you don’t understand how someone finds the time for it–if you want to, its there–but don’t make inferences about parenting based on it. I get you’re probably just saying it because she seems thirsty, but there are women with that lifestyle that are awesome parents with time for their kids.

+1
Sigh. She’s invested so much time and money in her body. It’s easy to say she hasn’t put enough into her mind. Certainly she could have avoided alienating much of her potential clientele by exercising (ha!) a modicum of emotional intelligence.

But let’s start with the easy stuff, i.e. the grammar, spelling and general communication issues:
* cast upon not casted on
* first viewing instead of fully viewing
* a period and not a comma after beautiful and sexy
* everyday not every day
* …we are normalizing a crisis, struggling to reconcile contradictions at the societal level and failing to encourage…

After all, it is so easy to be well informed in the information age, whether the topic be social etiquette or basic grammar. There is literally nothing standing between anyone and good communication skills. WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?

“…that doesn’t give you the right to be so obnoxiously judgmental towards other women, their shapes, or lifestyles.”
Yes! What she does for her health/fitness is fine for HER. It works for her. But why does she think she has the right to dictate for other women?

And: I am on the thin side. I have a friend who is classified as obese. We just went in together on a personal trainer because we want to run a marathon. Guess what? My friend is in waaay better physical shape than I am. She can outrun me, she can do more reps, lift more weight, has more stamina, etc. She can do everything at a higher physical fitness level than me. Our trainer wanted us to get full physcials before we started training and my friend’s bloodwork and heart health and all the stuff that matters came back ‘in-range’ and overall, besides her weight, she is in excellent physical shape. Me, not so much! So NO, being overweight does not mean you are unhealthy (and vice versa).

Same here. I lost a lot of weight a few years ago and kept it off solely through calorie counting (I tried exercise but gahhh, so boring). I have two friends who are both overweight and who praise me for how much fat I shed – but they go to the gym, they swim, they are in every meaningful way fitter than I am. Sad thing is, even they still lament that I’m somehow the more successful physical specimen because I’m thinner, whereas I covet their strength and stamina…

Ms Kang is an idiot and if she didn’t want to be called out on it she shouldn’t have gone out insulting people. She started it and if she had any sense, she’d shut up now and hope people forget, rather than keep poking this dead horse.

I feel like people always miss the point when it comes to weight, including Maria. No matter how much you weight and what size you are, the only thing that matters is if you’re healthy and only a medical doctor/ physician can determine that. You can still be thin and have an irregularly high blood pressure, so it’s really hard to just look at photos of women and determine if they’re unhealthy or not.

I had a friend who is into weight lifting and has a phenomenal body, she does fitness competitions and modeling, but one day I asked her how she achieved such high physical results and she told me her doctor told her to stop with fitness routine, because it was too much for her body and she stopped menstruating for several years because of it. Her Dr doesn’t know if she will be able to have children now because of it, but she won’t stop her lifestyle. You would never look at her and think she is having health problems on the outside.

At the end of the day, this chick is just trolling now for attention, not because she knows she is shilling words of wisdom.

@hotpockets, she will regret it. I stopped menstruating at 19 due to my disordered eating and was diagnosed with a thyroid condition this year (at the age of 33). I’m infertile and was not able to conceive without the help of a reproductive endocrinologist but, according to this twit, I’m the picture of good health. I hope this woman stops dispensing advice.

Also, I would have to amputate a limb to weight less than 100 lbs at 5’7″
I wasn’t even that thin at the height of my eating disorder (although I was very close). I also looked like I had a terminal illness, but according to Maria I was on the right track!

I agree with Bedhead that she’s looking for an empire and trying to build her brand. Unfortunately, for her, I’m not sure there’s a market for a smug and thoroughly unlikeable, not that bright trainer who clearly has food and body image issues herself. Or if there is, Tracey Anderson already took it.

Ha!
The verb cast is conventionally uninflected in the past tense and as a past participle. Casted is an old form from every century from the 14th to the present—but it has given way to cast in modern English. Most editors around the English-speaking world still stamp it out when they see it.

Maybe Kang is a judgmental time traveler. That would be a much more interesting story than her latest diatribe.

I don’t see the word judgement in LAK’s comment, unless you guys are referring to a different thread.

However, if it was a mispelled word how do you know it wasn’t an unintentional mispelling of the word. People type from their phones all the time and it’s very easy to hit a wrong key or to accidentally leave out a letter. Sometimes autocorrect or word fill in causes an issue as well. It even happens when you’re on a desktop or laptop. It doesn’t mean that she doesn’t know how to spell a word it could be a simple mistake of typing too fast and missing or hitting a wrong key. Unless you guys don’t ever make mistakes, this is real petty.

Oh, now back to the real problem. This fit mom woman is out of her mind and needs a good kick in the rear. I hope she knows that she doesn’t speak for most women. She and Tracy Anderson are two of a kind. Maybe she’s trying to get Goops attention.

We should focus on the comments and not attack other posters for their spelling errors. Especially when the errors are minor and we can still understand the point they were trying to make. Lots of us type on a screen with that pesky auto-correct.

She must be rather limited in intelligence. Don’t you think you would proofread an email you were sending to “clear” your name? And she completely misses the point of the criticism directed towards her. She’s saying, ” no, I wasn’t shaming mildly fat people, look at the pictures! I was shaming extra fat people! See? It’s cool!” Moron.

Out of fairnes I don’t think she really meant to type 100lbs. That’s crazy. I’ll give her the benefit of doubt and assume she meant 120lbs. Even with 120lbs or 130lbs her statement is still BS. She’s making a blanket standard that does not leave room for height, bone mass, and muscle to fat ratios in our bodies. I know a lot of ladies that are shredded and weigh into their mid 130′s while being no taller than 5’7″.

It’s fantastic she’s feeling a need to help our countries obesity issue, but her approach and information is all wrong and shows her arrogance and ignorance.

@Florc – You make a good point…. It seems that Maria’s descriptions of ‘Women’ don’t account for unique traits involving “height, bone mass, and muscle to fat ratios”. One’s heritage can make a big difference in their bone structure… I have a younger cousin who was adopted, her mother was Hawaiian, & her father was African American.

Since she was a baby, she’s had the ‘strong, thick’ build many Hawaiians are known for, & it affected her weight. She’s a teenager now, & has been something she’s had to accept about herself in regards to all the so-called ‘ideals’ for women’s weight & figures. Maria just comes across uneducated (in more than one way apparently).

This woman looks amazing. I’d never take that away from her because she seems to feel that her self worth is wrapped up in her body. I think it’s irresponsible to throw out blanket statements about people. They’re plenty of healthy people in all shapes and sizes.

I think what is pretty obvious to me, is that this woman has some serious body issues. I think she’s putting her insecurities on others. People who are secure about who they are don’t feel the need to pass judgement, they simply live their lives.

TBH she is certainly thin and looks toned but she wouldn’t be looked at twice by any woman who was seriously into fitness, she seems to focus on thin rather than strong when to me ‘fit’ IS strong. I have no idea why she’s always flexing, her arm muscle is pretty unimpressive. I’m nowhere near as thin as this lady but I rock the biceps, butt and quads at least.

As fit as you are, Maria Kang, and clearly a hard worker, perhaps you ought to consider a freshman writing course to improve yourself? I believe you meant to say ” you can tell someone is unhealthy when they are obese and are 100lbs overweight”, but it’s hard to tell what exactly you were saying with your scattered at best writing style.

Brushing up on your vocabulary and gaining a grasp of grammar basics won’t make your shaming message any more palatable though. Dimebox and I are exemplifying how it feels to receive pointed criticism disguised as helpful concern, so it’s not too late for you to rebrand your missive as inspirational uplifting advice.

She is casting her net far and wide for attention. It’s boring. The concern trolling is old, and blatant in its desperation for acknowledgement. If you can’t feel good about your personal accomplishments without receiving universal praise, something is missing.

That thought crossed my mind, too. Of course, then we couldn’t gripe about her, but how much would it have irked her if they had just ignored her? Or maybe the email was sent in an attempt to become litigious in the near future if they didn’t attempt to clarify, which posting her link doesn’t really do, however.

She’s saying that being 100 pounds overweight is obviously not healthy, whereas 30 or 40 pounds is a different story. I don’t hate her, I think us Americans need to hear this stuff. I think Fat Acceptance is one if the worst things to happen for the health of this country.
I am 30 pounds overweight but have been 60 pounds over weight and I can tell you, you feel like you are dying when you carry that much extra weight. I didn’t even have high blood pressure or diabetes because I was pretty young and I still felt like death.
Even with the extra 30 pounds I now have health problems, my back and spine pays for every extra pound I have. I am beautiful and I know it, this issue is NOT about beauty it is about health and I don’t fault her for saying that being overweight is intrinsically unhealthy. I might take heat for this, but extra weight is not good for your skeletal structure, if nothing else. I continue to strive to lose weight not for my looks but for my spinal health.

“I think us Americans need to hear this stuff.”
But we do hear this stuff, all the time. The obesity epidemic, etc. And we also get the HW/Fashion images, which are ‘super skinny on women is beautiful’. And skinny is implied to be healthier.
There are ways to encourage us to find a healthy weight, but she’s a lousy salesperson on this.

@Patricia – I appreciate your thoughtful response, and the perspective you give as a woman who is working on losing weight (congrats on your weight loss so far!). Let me give you my perspective from the opposite side -someone who is thin, and used to be anorexic as a teen.

While obesity is a major issue, chicks like this one don’t help with that -they make it worse. I can’t speak for everyone, but if I was overweight, I would not be inspired to get healthier after hearing this woman. I’d think she was dumb and judgemental, and as a former anorexic, not someone who should be lecturing anyone on what healthy eating is.

I have friends who have struggled with weight loss. The ones who have accomplished their goals attributed their success to the helpful, firm, but nonjdugemental help of professionals like nutritionists, personal trainers, etc. The person relaying the message is just as important as the message itself. If someone ridiculed and mocked you, would you want to listen to them? I wouldn’t.

Also, I think we have very unhealthy attitudes toward food and weight in this country, but they’re not all due to overeating. I believe overeating and being too thin are two sides of the same coin, in a way. What we should all strive for -what I worked on very hard as a teen, and still sometimes struggle with to this day – is to have a healthy, balanced attitude toward food and exercise. That comes with knowledge, practice, and a good attitude, not from hectoring.

Finally, I dispute the idea that there is “Fat Acceptance” in America. I’ve heard snarky comments targeted at overweight people many times – sometimes openly so. I’ll never forget paying for something in Nordstrom’s when a very overweight woman passed by, and the salesgirl leaned in and said, “Wouldn’t you just kill yourself if you were that fat?” An overweight woman approached in the gym locker room and asked me if I thought she would like a particular class that I took, adding hesitantly, “Of course, I know I’d look like a hippo doing it, but it still looked fun!” It breaks me heart because shaming people is not the way to help them improve, IMO.

“Also, I think we have very unhealthy attitudes toward food and weight in this country, but they’re not all due to overeating. I believe overeating and being too thin are two sides of the same coin, in a way.”
exactly. love your comment.

This is such a lovely, thoughtful comment. Thank you for taking the time to write out your thoughts. From this one comment, I can tell that you are a kind and emphathetic person- just l ike we can all tell from her words that Fit Mom is a nasty person. I completely agree with you, BTW, they are two sides of the same coin. Both things abuse food. I am a person who lost 70 pounts five years ago and kept it off. I have to fight every day to keep a healthy mentality about weight whcih means accepting my body and eating healthy food.

thank you for your words about fat acceptance, which is what ive believed all along when it comes to this woman. i have been 100lbs overweight, i have been 10lbs away from my goal, i am now about 30lbs away because, well, life. never, no matter where i have been on this spectrum, have i ever felt oh, i love being fat. i accept it. um, not. my goal is still the high end of my bmi too but my point is, those of us overweight, obese, whatever…we are not dumb. we know we are fat. we know we are looked down upon. we know we are not accepted. i know exactly how differently people treat me depending on how much i weigh at the moment. the difference is staggering. we are not asking people to celebrate fatness…we are just asking people to let us be, for one moment, and let us maybe even try to like ourselves. trust me, most of the time, we do not.

and maria, if you are reading these comments, yeah, i have seen the lingerie pics. i see them every day when i look in the mirror. did you want me to be outraged? disgusted? hate what i see? well, yeah, ive felt that way since i was 8 years old and it is a daily struggle. i am sorry that they seem to personally offend you on some level but maybe you can do what mothers all over the world advise their kids to do…if you dont like it, ignore it. i will be happy to ignore you too.

To me, the glorification of unhealthily* overweight people is as toxic as the glorification of unhealthily* thin people, as we see in those awful “thinspo” sites. Many, many people who are massively over or underweight are in that state due to either psychiatric issues (PTSD, depression, addiction, etc) or socioeconomic issues (lack of education, access to good food, etc). If someone encouraged people who were literally starving to post pictures on facebook so their appearance could be praised, I would consider that pretty f-ed up. Many of the women who posed in lingerie are extremely, possibly dangerously, heavy for their bone structure. Whilst yes, how each individual’s body responds to significant stress is different, there are countless research papers that show a correlation between obesity and a myriad of health problems.
I think encouraging real, healthy people to be PHYSICAL role models is fantastic, but medically anorexic or morbidly obese people are equally unwise choices. Perhaps we should be celebrating people’s actions, rather than their physical appearance – exercising more, eating foods closer to their natural state, working on self-acceptance. In addition to that, women are, in my opinion, in dire need of more NON-PHYSICAL role models. Just because you are physically unhealthy doesn’t mean you can’t be an incredible intellectual, academic, spiritual, or political role model. The sad thing is that this is so undervalued.

NOTE: I say, as a general statement, “unhealthily” with some basis: I work in healthcare and see patients every, single day who suffer from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, significant muscle and bone issues, etc that are, if not caused, at least exacerbated by the stress they place on their bodies by carrying a large amount of excess weight.

I agree with her on this: struggle with contradictions in our society and should encourage real, average people to be role models.
And that’s about it.

@Lunchcoma: Have to wonder if she even proof read her email, or had someone else do it, before sending it. It’s one thing to dash off a quick comment on a gossip site, another thing to send in an email to a site like this, knowing it’ll probably be posted.

All I have to say is that I agree wholeheartedly with your point that for someone who has previously suffered with eating disorders she is WOEFULLY insensitive to women and their body issues. She does know that eating disorders come in different forms and do not only involve restricting calories right? Some of those women who she judges may very well suffer from eating disorders too. So I guess it’s only when your disorder involves restricting that you’re worthy of empathy, care and genuine assistance? She annoys me. Highly.

This girl is beyond help. Hey maria my husband just got his physical done today. Hes in the military, works out everyday, is 5’11 and 170 pounds of hard body. He was told today he has high cholesterol and its because he eats mcdonalds and popeyes at the food court during lunch every day. Yet he is healthy in maria kang standards right ? Bc he’s not fat.

My mother has never been overweight in her life, yet she’s had a physically debilitating chronic disease since she was in her 20s. She is now a senior who still has an hourglass shape (not all that common for a woman her age) and is perfectly within the acceptable weight range for her height. Yet she cannot do the simplest of tasks most of us take for granted without assistance.

I can safely say my mother would rather be overweight than to have the limitations she faces every single day.

I agree that Maria has oversimplified the topic, as being a certain weight does not guarantee health.

I get what she’s saying but I wish she wasn’t the one saying it. She comes across as a derpy lug brain with nothing between her ears but slow meat. Not to mention that she has no credibility at all other than that she works out. Her history of eating disorders and her subjective mantra about being an average person role model on top of the fact that she’s borderline whiny baby when she gets criticized – ugh – I could go on and on…

I used to be a gym rat, spending about 2 hours a day in the gym 5 days a week. And when I wasn’t in the gym, I was thinking about the gym or reading about fitness. I measured my food. I had a 6 pack. I was lean and proud. I was also insufferable to be around. My friends practically staged an intervention for me. Now I don’t work out to that degree, I’m probably about 15# “overweight” according to some metrics, but I have a much better life and am a lot more fun to be around. My health and energy are actually better now. And I have boobs again.

That image is not perfect in anyway. The original Rosie the Riveter image was used to boost women’s participation in the war effort. Kang is using it to up women’ s participation in her skewed body image junket.

I asked this on an earlier Kang thread but didn’t get a response: Is there a professional association for personal trainers? One that has peer reviewed practices & certification? I very seriously doubt that someone with a background in nutrition & kinesiology would be making these kinds of blanket statements. She might know how to lift weights & run, but it sounds like she doesn’t know much at all about HOW the body works the way it does or why, in some cases, it doesn’t work

Your point is so important. I laugh about Maria’s poorly thought out media campaign, but trainers without knowledge are dangerous. I worked out with a local well-regarded trainer who directed me to lift a weight in a manner that injured my shoulder. My orthopedic surgeon told me that she had no business being an instructor without further education. But it’s too late for me.

@dimebox, I hired a trainer to help me get in shape after baby #2. I developed a diastasis recti and was desperate to try and close the muscle gap with exercise. He had me benching 155 (30 lbs more than I weighed) and stacking the leg press machine. I was thrilled with how strong I had gotten, but I developed a hernia from lifting improperly. The only thing that helped close the gap from my diastasis (somewhat) was pilates with an instructor who was also a trained physical therapist. I wish I had done that from the start (it would have saved me a lot of pain and suffering).

Oh, Fit Mom. It’s time to take a seat. I have friends who share her stuff on FB, and she’s ok when she’s talking about herself and her personal experience. Then, she spins off into fitness in general & brings specific criticisms into the mix that totally discredit her because they’re so bone-headed. You could simply present that email without comment and we could arrive at the same conclusion.

Maybe Maria needs to understand you don’t win converts by calling people stupid, lazy and fat. We aren’t understanding her message because she doesn’t know how to use her words. Maybe she should spend some time with an editor crafting her message rather than letting abusive crap spew forth from her mouth and her keyboard. This is a perfect example of women needing to be able to articulate and express themselves clearly and not just be a hot body and a pretty face for men.

The attacks she thinks she is suffering under are all self inflicted. I do think it is with intent so she can get some crappy fitness deal, only time will tell on that front.

This tone-deaf entitled moron needs to go away. We don’t need a culture of judging, belitting and shaming people for looking how they look; we need a culture that enables people to focus on their mental and physical health and happiness, not their looks.

I have to say, I very much dislike judging people but anyone saying it’s wrong for MK to be judgmental towards women or fat people…maybe it’s just a bad word choice? Because it doesn’t seem to be a problem when a disliked celeb (like Kim K) gains weight while PREGNANT, all the harsh words and judgments, but it’s a problem when a hot, fit normal woman says obese is not healthy? I mean, nine times out of ten that’s true, and I don’t think the issue here is-does fit equal healthy, bc I think we all know that is not always true. I think the issue here is just too much judgments, on Maria’s side, and on the side of those that want to pick her apart bc they don’t like what she has to say. It’s just an opinion, whether right or wrong, we are the ones making it an issue.

Leila, I think the problem is people don’t realize the effects we have on each other. If just one person decides to be the best and kindest they can be, it will change the world forever. For example, Louis Zamperini was inspired by Billy Graham, Louis in turn inspired countless people to forgive and accept each other, including myself. I can’t speak for the others, but the changes I made have inspired many ppl in my life, probably to a degree I don’t understand and don’t deserve very much credit for, bc that’s not the point. But when you stand up for good, others will too. I’ve learned that, and they will see life in a new light if you show it to them that way. Negativity feeds off negativity, and I know it sounds all New Agey but it’s true. People will still try to put you down, but they will stop eventually when they see it’s not having the desired effect. And it’s hard to keep trying to hate someone that has love-only for you. Eventually they get that, and it helps melt the coldness around their hearts that they built to protect themselves. Life is painful and harsh, bc humanity is. We’ve built these walls in defense, but there is no need to hate ANYBODY- even the Jodi Arias’s of the world- if we understood each other, bc we’re all hurting so we inflict pain back (even Jodi), but we’re also just alike. We’re all human, and we will all pay for our bad choices in due time (look at George Zimmerman). Seeking revenge and vindication does not make our lives easier, but seeking peace and understanding will. We don’t see the results of our actions sometimes for years, or maybe never will, but they exist forever. If I took my anger out on someone else, and then them on another, and so on and so forth, where does it end? I’ve seen a child get hurt, way down the line, and it forever changes that child’s destiny, just like it does an adults. And it won’t end until we put an end to it, even if we have to stand alone to say this is wrong….eventually others will join the call, bc we follow each others’ influence, it’s human nature, we learn and grow together. So for the Maria Kang’s, imo, you have to see her life through accepting eyes. If she lacks empathy for others, well, throwing it back at her doesn’t help anything. Respect her thoughts and experiences, and tell her how her opinion hurts others. Sometimes we put our foots in our mouths, but an opinion can change so easily. In this case, I think MKs opinion might change, if she wasn’t so busy defending herself from the hate that is being thrown at her. It’s hard for ppl to admit they are wrong, but I don’t think she’s cruel or ignorant. Her experiences are different than others, but we should help her understand what she hasn’t experienced, instead of trying to hurt or discredit her for daring to say what she feels. That type of reaction doesn’t bring anyone above her, just the opposite, imo.

“Because it doesn’t seem to be a problem when a disliked celeb (like Kim K) gains weight while PREGNANT, all the harsh words and judgments, but it’s a problem when a hot, fit normal woman says obese is not healthy?”

That’s because most people (it seems) like to pick and choose when body-shaming and other problematic societal ill is ok and when it’s not, instead of realizing that problems need to be done away with across the board.

And LOTS of people will abandon any social justice principal they have when it’s a person they disapprove of.

But it’s true that some of those women are seriously overweight. It’s not ours or Maria’s place to target them or any overweight, but there’s a point what Maria is saying, some of those women are really overweight and fat acceptance is not right. That’s delusional that being overweight doesn’t cause you any health problems and that you can be healthy with that amount of weight. Maybe now yes, but what about after decade or two??

+2. Unless you go around telling everyone what they do wrong -smokers, for example- don’t talk about the obesity issue as if you were concerned about people’s health, when in fact it’s more likely an aesthetics judgement on your part.

You cannot look at someone and know their health status. That goes for thin people, regular people, fit people, and yes-even fat people. It’s none of your business. It’s between the person and their doctor (possibly the person’s family as well).

yes, I said that it’s not my place to call them out, please read more thoroughly before commenting.
And I’m concerned about people’s health, I’m a nurse who is working with cardiovascular diseases so now what being obese does to you, just like smoking.

All true, but my question is, why does it bother her so much? Their life is not her life. If they eat that food and avoid exercise, it doesn’t affect her body. That’s why I’d safely call her a concern troll.

I don’t understand how it’s okay to judge everything about someone else from their head to their toes, to “just not like” someone for no apparent or sensible reason, or to judge people for a past they cannot change, as long as you don’t comment on their weight (which is also a huge contradiction bc if LiLo or Kim K gain ten pounds, they will be verbally beat down for how “fat and nasty” they look)??? I don’t think women should be put down for their looks or their weight, but I also don’t think it’s okay to chastise Maria Kang for saying obese is unhealthy, and then move on to the Leann Rhymes story to gossip about how ugly she is. Don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house, and if you live in a brick house, then you should be asking yourself, why the hell do you need to throw stones at your neighbors anyways?
Now, before my words are twisted, I’d like to point out-This comment is not directed at any one person, and if it’s taken personally by anyone, it was not my intention to make anyone feel bad about themselves (unless the result is they stop doing it). I used to do the same, and I don’t think we realize, sometimes, that it’s not everyone else that has the problem, it’s us. It’s just much easier to push the issue on others then to deal with it in ourselves. If it’s no ones business how fat I am, then it shouldn’t be my business to talk about how fat or unattractive anyone else is either. It can’t be both ways.

Kcaia – That is why I do not comment on someone’s appearance other than to say “I don’t find him/her attractive, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” or to comment on how an outfit might not be flattering. It’s simply not OK to judge others on a subjective basis. What I find beautiful might not appeal to someone else.

P Paranormal girl, I know you don’t, bc I like and therefore remember your comments, but I didn’t want to specifically say that I know you don’t, bc I can’t remember who does and doesn’t say what (for the most part) and I didn’t want it to be interpreted like I’m pointing fingers at the others who were commenting. Ahhh, this is getting too complicated!

Kcaia, I have to agree with part of what you said. It goes back to what I said upthread about how people like to ‘pick and choose. One minute people will slam the body-shaming of Maria Kang and discuss how effed up and sexist the beauty standards are, or rightfully slam Rush Limbaugh for what he said last year, saying “my body, my choice”, and the next minute they’ll be all, “Ew. Kim K and Leanne Rimes are so fat, and GAWD, how dare Leanne not wear a bra under her t-shirt. What a slore.” (That’s a comment that I actually saw).

The biggest problem regarding weight when one is old is being UNDERweight. Actually, the biggest problem regarding weight, period, is being underweight. It is as unhealthy to be a small amount underweight as it is to be extremely, hugely obese, as in 500 pounds obese. That level of obesity is incredibly rare; being underweight is, sadly, not. And being underweight for women is being pushed as “healthy” — when no.

where exactly is all this fat acceptance and fat warf vacation that you people are speaking of? I can tell you I have never once walk down the street and had somebody tell me hey, you’re fat, that’s great. I sure have seen a lot of assumptions about my lifestyle in the thread though,.

It’s weird when talking about the overweight ppl always rant on how the medical status is only between your doctor and you, but when someone is acting like having some mental problems, people always are so concern and worried that she should go to the doctor.
And like in real life, if you see something is off with your friend, don’t you say them that is everything all right and should you go to the doctor? Even without training someone can see when other is not healthy. And being overweight is not healthy, at least in the long run.

Maybe, just maybe, she should stop worrying about this shit and learn how to write properly. Furthermore, if you cannot form grammatically correct sentences as an adult, there was something wrong with your education.

I agree with what was said about her admitting to having an eating disorder in the past. One would think, she would be a little bit more sensitive, but I guess sensitivity is not her strong suit.

Please make this woman go away. She is certainly looking to milk this for all it is worth.

I’m fit – no doubt. Hell, I’m a triathlete. I’m also a psychiatrist, which means I am a medical doctor. You’re sending a really unhealthy message that women have to look just like you in order to be healthy. Not true. Just as women come in all shapes and sizes, so does fitness and health.

You are very beautiful but you arent even cut or buff. So clearly, to me, you are unqualified to be giving fitness advice. You are just thin and clearly dont work out like a beast or know what you are doing in the gym if you are this thin yet work out every day. so i am not buying you are some fitness expert, which is what you are selling. its fishy. Which doesnt matter because you are fugly on the inside. As a woman, I am offended by Maria’s misogynistic degrading insults to women and their bodies. Quit fat shaming my sisters out there! She is targeting a very specific group of women who are patrons of a business / private citizens here in the Bay. Cruel and uncool!

Hailey on Lainey Gossip IS a great personal trainer. I frequently check out the Life Style section on Lainey’s blog just to see Hailey answering people’s questions they send in to her – she is not judgemental in the least and she is so encouraging and realizes everyone operates at different fitness levels. And she has had some really great tips for runners too. Trainers who realize that everyone is different (different body type, different fitness levels, different strengths/weakness) need to be promoted, not someone like Maria Kang who hasn’t even gone to school to train for what she is “promoting”.

Instead of showing really fit women or “curvy” women why not show real women? Women who work full time so they can’t work out 2 hours a day but still maintain a healthy figure? Whats wrong with showing women who are in the middle of their BMI? These are the individuals who live a life without going to either extremes which (IMO) is a healthy lifestyle. We should work out to maintain a healthy lifestyle however we don’t need to be eating kale chips as our indulgence. We can live and enjoy breads, pasta, cake etc all in moderation and the same can be said for exercise.

Oh, I don’t think so. I think the majority of the women here have very clearly posted their issues with Maria Kang. The things she has said would be JUST as unacceptable coming from a man. I find the trainers on “The Biggest Loser” and “Extreme Weight Loss” to be an issue as well, coming from the psychiatric perspective.

Er… starving to death is significantly more “deadly” than any supposed “obesity-related condition” whatsoever. Because, you know, you need food. Starving to death = dead very, very quickly. Despite what the media and even many doctors would like us to believe, most “obese” people live long and healthy lives, and people in wealthy countries like the United States are living longer than ever, mostly due to the fact that food is plentiful. And the deadliest mental illness is anorexia.

The main reason such a large proportion of children used to die before age 5 was that neither their mothers nor they got enough food for their basic development. As soon as the agricultural revolution of the 18th century happened, kids in Western Europe started surviving more often than not, which was a huge sea change in the way society used to work.

The healthiest category in the stupid BMI is the “overweight” one. And if you eat just enough to survive, or exercise so much that you expend nearly as many calories as you take in, you are an extremely unhealthy person. To be healthy, people need to eat way more than just enough to survive.

This woman still has an eating disorder. Over-exercising is extraordinarily unhealthy.

If her mission is to inspire women to work out, why is it that none of us like her here? No one is jumping on her bandwagob. Besides her personal facebook where she heavily moderates comments and deletes all negative comments, comments on articles about her are mostly negative.

Perhaps she should think about why she is turning into one of the most hated “fitness” (i use that word loosely for her) personalities out there.

That’s hilarious! With everything said about her in that thread, she’s offended we’re not more offended by fat women in lingerie! Dude.

On a related note, I have a very dear friend who has never exercised or eaten well and she’s thin as a rail. When you look at her she seems fit because of the way her minimal body fat is distributed. She’s far from healthy, though. The poor thing has had almost her entire large intestine removed and has only one kidney left at the ripe old age of 29.

I’m 28 and was very obese at one point. I lost 70lbs and have to lift and run all the time to keep it off, but short of eating 1200 calories a day, I can’t get below 160 (5’4″). I’m unwilling to do that. Being stick-thin isn’t worth never having queso or beer to me. Sorry, it just isn’t; there’s something to be said about quality of life. To me, happiness involves beer and cheese. I’ll always technically be overweight, right?

Now, sit me next to my sickly friend and ask Maria who she thinks is healthier.

She is just an attention seeking jerk. Every time she is interviewed she makes idiotic statements. She wants to claim this is all about fighting obesity, but posting pictures of yourself online is not doing anything but seeking publicity.

Shame on her for for taking something iconic like “Rosie the Riveter” , and using it for her own bs.

Completely agree – this is all about attention, publicity, and trying to build up her career.
As I said in the other thread, if she really is good at her job, clients will come. But aggressively trying to make a name for herself at the expense of others is not the way to go.

Yes, Maria is straining to get her 15 minutes. I agree with all of the above comments, and would like to add that you cannot tell how much someone weighs based on their physical appearance. As a 5’9″ woman, when I weigh my usual weight of 180 lbs I am an average size 8 (or 6 or 10 depending on the clothing manufacturer, not that it matters). I’ve always weighed what seems like “a lot” because I have a lot of muscle tissue (not from weight lifting, just genetics)–at 150 lbs I look skeletal, with every rib showing, collarbone sticking out.

My point is, she has no idea how much overweight someone is based on their photograph on a website. We know celebrities use all sorts of tricks to look thinner on camera (makeup, angles, lighting). She needs to shut up and start reading some literature on the complexities of weight, health, and nutrition. recent studies have shown that even laboratory animals, who are fed strictly controlled & monitored diets, are heavier than they were decades ago & scientists can’t figure out why.

I watch the Biggest Loser every week and the trainers on the show are encouraging, sensitive and tough. I would direct Maria to watch the show and change her approach. We all know there is an obesity epidemic in the United States and that it is creating major health problems. But you cannot say someone who is 100 lbs overweight is unhealthy and someone is underweight or normal weight is healthy. Health is so much more than a number on the scale and when you focus the numbers you become unhealthy. Being healthy and fit is 85% nutrition, 15% what you do in the gym.

She lost me when she said over weight woman are not real woman. I am an over weight woman myself and have female friends who are over weight. We are real woman from our actual gender to who we are in character. How dare she attack over weight woman and discredit their social identity in society. Those women she attacked ( I will use those words) are the every day mom, wife and woman. On top of that she is superficially summing up what it means to be healthy or have good health. Being healthy is an actual state of being not what can be reflected back in the mirror. You have healthy people who do not fit their BMI ratio. The real issue is that Americans are very shallow when it comes to weight lost. If you ask any person who lost a large amount of weight they didn’t do it to look good but to actually imporve their overall health condition. I think Americans need to understand the difference of exercising to have good health and excerising just to look good. An actual fitness trainer, who has worked with over weight people can tell you the difference. Also they would want to motivate over weight people not talk down, belittle and dscredit any one who is over weight. Kang struggle to create a difference and fixated on superficially promoting health and attacking over weight women. In the end, I find her discrediting and extremely disrespecful.

They are obese if they weigh over 100 pounds? This woman is about as delusional as Kanye. “Judgement is being casted upon me”? Time to put down those weights and pick up some books, because you sound very illiterate. Please don’t teach your children to be so judgemental and vain.

Please stop writing about her as it only encourages her line of bullsh*t. Also “is being CASTED on me” isn’t grammatically correct so she loses more points for that. It’s not a proper tense of the verb “cast”.

She can weight what she wants, and I’ll weigh what I want. Time for her to sit down and STFU.

Being overweight isn’t healthy. There is no way around it, its just the truth. She shouldn’t have to make little disclaimers about the fact that there are many people who are not overweight and also are not healthy. And better yet, being at a healthy weight is pretty darn easy. She’s not saying anything wrong she’s just ill equipped to deal with the backlash.

“Being overweight isn’t healthy.”
And that’s not what anybody is debating. The issue is, what gives some random woman a right to insult large swaths of people (“What’s your excuse?”) for their bad habits, which don’t even affect her! She’ s not a doctor, a nutritionist, a public health official, etc. She’s just some dumb chick looking for her 15 minutes of fame.

What gives her or you or anyone else the right to just tell people what they’re doing wrong? I’m thin and fit, but I don’t feel that gives me carte blanche to tell everyone who’s heavier to lose weight.

I wish people would just admit they are visually offended by heavy people, and stop pretending they care about “health.”

She was referring to the fact that we all use excuses to be inactive, eat unhealthy food etc. I am sure she even has a few (three children would be a good one!) but her point is that she doesn’t let them control her choices in life. None of us should. No matter what is going on in someone’s life there are always better choices that can be made. I can’t comprehend how any one could be seriously insulted by this.

You completely ignored my point. The issue is not whether she is right about overweight = healthy. The issue is who is she to be making pronouncements and saying “shame on you!” when she is just some dumb random chick on Facebook. One with a previous eating disorder, natch. I say this as someone who’s a former anorexic – people who live in thin houses should not be throwing fat stones.

“We all use excuses to be inactive” – nope. I and many others like me in my gym exercise stringently, and eat properly. But most of us don’t have the need to go telling random people what’s best for them. If you see that as something admirable, that’s an issue you have – it does not demonstrate a committment to good health.

Amen. This Maria Kang kook has not created an issue about obesity in my eyes, it’s become a a lesson about the value of being kind and compassionate to others. Just because you are overweight, doesn’t mean you WANT to be overweight. Why kick somebody when they are down and degrade them like Maria? HELP them and INSPIRE them to be fit and healthy. At the end of the day, we are all on our own journeys and make our own decisions. Be kind to others, make change through education and inspiration not cruelty and fear and shaming.

Please define “overweight”, & a “healthy” weight. Having too much body fat may not be healthy, but given the standards we use in this country (Body Mass Index) most professional athletes, including football players & olympic competitors, are considered to be overweight.
Being inactive, eating crappy, and stressing out are unhealthy. A healthy weight to me is the weight you are at when you are healthy, and it may be for some a lot more than you think it is.

That’s exactly what I mean by a healthy weight. My husband is one of those people! According to the charts he’d be obese! Clearly, the charts aren’t written in stone and I don’t think I have to make little disclaimers like this in order for my point to be valid. I like your response though!

No one is arguing that point though. Everyone agrees being overweight is not healthy.

What I am arguing is that she is a nasty bully by creating this smear campaign against the the female customers of Curvy Girl Lingerie who took pictures of themselves in the stores lingerie as a way to empower themselves. How dare Maria attack these private citizens? And go on CNN insulting them? These women do not deserve her mean spirited attacks on their weight and appearance. She is nothing but a bully and an ignorant woman hater who uses the “obesity epidemic” as a guise to degrade these women (and new moms). All i hear her do in interviews is attack women, call them fat and unhealthy. She offers NO suggestions, no exercise tips, no useful relevant information that could inspire women.

She is a shameless famewhore and will never see a penny from my wallet.

Maria should put her time and money where her mouth is, and work out with some overweight girls and HELP them work out, instead of degrade them publically.

thanks for your concern, but it’s not easy for me to be a healthy weight. I have an endocrine disorder that makes it very difficult for me to lose weight. I have to work twice as hard as a person with a regular metabolism to lose half to the weight they can through moderate diet and exercise.

maybe this is the reading people’s problems. Evidently some people can’t just understand that things are different for everybody.

here’s the kicker–there’s a good chance that I eat less, exercise more and have better vitals and blood panel than you.

Some people seem to have no concept about people’s situations being vastly different. I hate the sort of arrogance that people like this woman have; “IfI can be healthy, so can you!”

I have a condition which makes working out almost impossible, strenuous exercise actually makes me ill. I am seriously upset every time someone makes a value judgement of my moral character based purely upon my weight. When will people learn that you cannot judge a person without knowing their complete story? Seriously, just sit the fuck down.

Clearly she does not believe she is “an average mom” or she wouldn’t have posted those ridiculous photos of herself. She should leave the gym once in a while & read a book. Her brain needs exercise too. Desperately.

On a certain level, I can see where Maria is coming from. Lots of us DO make excuses for not going to the gym, not eating right, not making time for ourselves. I’m one of those people and just about every mom I know falls into that category. I think if we were a lot more honest with ourselves about what we eat and how much time we spend exercising, instead of trying to rationalize our behaviors or justifying being overweight, unfit, etc. as “self love,” people would not be hating on this lady in quite this way. I’m pretty honest with myself – I need to lose about 20 pounds and I can’t blame that on anyone but myself. I hate working out and I love food. I’m not happy with my weight because I have a closet full of clothes that don’t fit me – but that doesn’t mean I don’t love myself, blah blah blah. I know I can do better and should do better. And eventually I will get sick of making excuses and get my flabby ass back to the workout mat.

I think the frenzy around this woman comes from the fact that a lot women are either in denial or still making excuses for not being in shape. They see this woman out there doing what they know they should be doing, and they hate her for it. She will never win this argument because there are a lot more of us flabby haters than there are supporters of her cause, so she should probably just put a cork in it and hit the weights. Looking good is the best revenge, right?

I know many women who do more than Maria, while being single parents, going to school, and struggling with finances.

IMO women (the only objects of Maria’s scorn, not men) do not ‘hate’ her because she’s doing what they are not. They ‘hate’ her because she’s ignorant and being given a platform from which she is continuing to spew her ignorance. She is unqualified to be given this platform, as she has no formal training and all she possesses is her anecdotal OPINIONS, which she is terrible at conveying. The woman can barely put together a coherent sentence.

The point being, that the messenger in this issue is the wrong one. We do need QUALIFIED people to educate and give advice on health and fitness and yet, in place of that, what we get is… Maria Kang? No thank you.

Even though she had a eating this order in the past, I don’t think she has one now. knowing from experience, you have to eat a lot of protein to get that kind of body. Obesity is a problem much more prevalent than being too skinny in America. To compare the two isn’t completely fair. Being both obese and healthy is a lifestyle choice. She may have not been the most eloquent though as I can see why some people thought she was fat shaming.

Since she’s apparently reading about herself, let me put this out there – she cannot change anyone. No matter what she says or does, she cannot make someone change their ways, eat differently, exercise differently, etc. That doesn’t happen until the person is ready to change THEMSELVES, and that’s where a fitness/nutrition person comes in. Her job would be to teach skills and provide tools, but you can’t do that to a person who is not receptive, or not ready to change or deal with whatever is causing the behavior to begin with. The people she’s so “concerned” about, the ones 100 lbs overweight (which I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt in assuming she meant)? Food or laziness usually isn’t the problem. It’s usually a symptom of something else, a way of coping with other issues that unfortunately everyone can see.
By attacking people, who did not ask for opinion or advice, she is closing them off to anything positive she might have to share. If she truly wants to help people, help those who are ready and ask for it.

It seems to me, there are a lot of people here on the defense. There is nothing wrong or untrue about Maria’s message. Obesity is an epidemic in America and is killing people. We need to stop glorifying, embracing and normalizing being grossly overweight. Perhaps, there are a lot of people here that don’t want to hear or accept her message because you don’t want to be accountable for your unhealthy weight. Maybe you would rather continue to make excuses and deflect from her message by focusing on her poor grammar or the fact that being underweight is even unhealthier. That is beside the point. Being 100lbs overweight is unhealthy. How can people argue to the contrary?

THANK YOU! 100% agree, this is absolutely insane. She isn’t saying obese people are worthless, fat slobs who shouldn’t be mothers. It is absolutely NOT natural for women to gain insane amounts of weight during pregnancy; It is unhealthy and unnecessary. She and Caroline Berg Eriksen are trying to empower women, especially new moms, to not allow pregnancy to destroy their bodies – because that simply SHOULD NOT be the end result. Pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood should be the most empowering experience of a woman’s life.

No one is disagreeing with her statement that being obese is unhealthy. Talk about a “duh” statement. She isn’t saying anything new or revolutionary. Lets not pretend she is offering anything new to the discussion of obesity by repeating “obesity is an epidemic.”

What people like me (a gym rat) don’t want to hear is Maria Kang attacking a bunch of customers from Curvy Girl Lingerie store and degrading their appearance on her bitchy blog posts and national media. That is mean-girl behavior at its finest. Please try and justify her criticisms of these women, who took these pictures to empower themselves. I can’t find one good reason to justify Maria Kang’s mean spirited attacks against these women who never asked for her opinion.

It is not ok to terrorize these women because they are overweight. Its not ok to degrade anyone, ever. As most of us learned in grade school, which Maria apparently did not, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. And that teasing someone based on their looks is reprehensible. Criticizing women’s bodies, pointing out flaws in others, making misogynistic statements such as telling CNN these women are “not real women” doesn’t stop the obesity crisis. These are real women Maria, whether you like it not, and they are not to be treated as less than a woman, as second-class citizens just because you think they should be. They deserve common human decency regardless of their weight. I don’t care how you, Maria, degrade and demoralize these women, but I will never treat another human with the lack of common human decency you have shown those women just because they are fat. her bs about “normalizing” obesity is her justification for insulting these women. But there is no excuse for the cruel and unkind behavior of Maria toward’s the customers of Curvy Girl Lingerie. She owes those women an apology.

I question Maria’s intentions because Maria is not offering to help this group of women get fit, she is just calling them obese and unhealthy on national tv to shame them, which does nothing to help improve their fitness as Maria claims to want to do.

Sincerely,
A fit, slender, gym rat who works out like a beast and is not jealous of Maria

Thank you for your posts, Stacey. You’ve expressed so well what I would like to, only I’m getting too sad reading these posts, so I’m just abandoning the thread. I don’t see how anybody could interpret dislike of Maria Kang and her tactics to mean that we’re encouraging obesity. Like you, I’m a thin person who works out regularly, and I am so turned off by her. What do people not get about “it’s not nice to say nasty things to people” – even if there is an element of truth to it?

There are some thin gym freaks who are nasty to overweight women, and it gives all of us a bad name. Personally, if I see someone whos’ struggling with their weight at the gym, I try to smile at them and be encouraging and nice, because I can imagine it takes courage.

great post. this woman has some serious insecurities. she craves attention and complements about her outward appearance. her reward is the male gaze. she blames feminists for the blow back and look at all the comment sections of articles about her: full of sexist degrading cracks from men (avatar names). she has a very low opinion of women because deep down she has a low opinion of herself other than being a pretty and vacant object. she needs help.

Thank you ladies. I self identify as a feminist and it is very important to me to point out misogyny when I see it happening. Maria Kang probably doesn’t even realize how misogynistic she is and sometimes it takes someone pointing it out for everyone to recognize it.

I think the reason people are reacting to Maria’s grammar and other issues is because she is holding herself up as an example – when pointing out others flaws and saying “why can’t you all be like me?”, and doing so in a way that sounds unintelligent, people are naturally going to point that out in response.

I don’t believe anyone is disagreeing with the idea that being 100 lbs overweight is unhealthy, but rather her approach and attitude towards those people.
Where on earth is being 100 lbs overweight “glorified”?

I’m 34 years old, and I have 3 children–2 of them toddlers close together in age, like Ms. Kang. I weigh 129 lbs and I’m 5’6″, which puts me at a healthy BMI. I try to exercise 3 times a week, I eat vegetables and protein, some days all I eat is Cheetos and grape soda, and I’m a size 6. By all intents and purposes I look healthy on the outside, but I also have diffuse scleroderma and sjrogrens syndrome, a metal rod in my back from a scoliosis operation when I was 14, and suffer hypothyroidism. Having a six pack and Being able to fit into a pair of skinny jeans doesn’t automatically mean that a person is healthy, and any licensed healthcare professional would know this.

@Jessie – Ugh, I’m so sorry for all you’ve had to go through! I can’t even *imagine* having that sort of operation at age 14. I know you weren’t (at all) fishing for compliments, but I do admire what you’ve been able to do, even after going through so much. =) You’re absolutely right, what you see is not always what you get.

Oh man, you sound lovely but I’m really grossed out about the Cheetos! There is a healthy kind without artificial colours please go find that one! And mix grape juice with club soda to avoid the artificial purple color

She’s beyond irritating. And it’s not a rant about the lingerie models being unhealthy – she was grossed out that they have the “nerve” to “model” when they have a flabby belly. She’s fat shaming – I don’t care how she tries back pedal.

@Pandy – I found the whole ‘That is not what women should look like!’ aspect of her comment (not quoted, as I can’t be bothered to look it up) particularly annoying. No one can deny that it’s purely arrogance to think *their* opinion applies to *everyone*.

Posting a second comment. Her remark about “normalizing obesity”. I work in the mental health and addictions field and we are actively trying to normalize mental health and addiction conditions. Remember the days someone depressed would be locked away in an asylum or the family attic, never to be heard from again? It sounds like she’s trying to shame anyone with more than 100 extra lbs, not “help” the behaviour. Perhaps we can lock them away in a gym until they learn proper portions and that a treadmill is their friend. Foolish woman. Why is she getting publicity anyway??

My question is, why do we continue to feed this woman’s need for publicity? We can always just ignore her. There are many other far more abrasive people with the same message running around out there but we seem to have focused on her in particular. Why is that? Because she hit a weak spot of the so-called mini-van majority? I don’t know.

It seems pretty clear, if you look at the context of everything else she says, that she meant “100 lbs, overweight.” She’s definitely obnoxious and needs to mind her business – maybe that would free up some time for her to proofread her own stuff – but let’s not jump into a fake argument over the 100 lbs. thing. Her typos are the least annoying thing about her.

Uh, so she clearly is STILL suffering from an eating disorder if she states that over ’100 pounds’ is overweight and unhealthy. I’m 5’6 and when I get down to 120 I look sick. I look like I keep taking lines off the counter. Does she not know that muscle weighs more than fat? Does she know that saying over 100 pounds (is unhealthy) is damaging to women and girls that already have per-existing disordered eating habits? She’s a walking billboard of pro-eating disorders masquerading as health and nutrition.

I’ve been the super thin and I was ungodly unhappy. I’m 130 now and I’ve never been happier with my body in my entire life. If you paid me $5,000 (a day) to have Pro-Bulimia’s body up there I’d do it. But that means going back to being insecure with my body and not worth it.

My old gym buddy/trainer had been both a trainer at Gold’s as well as a competitor in body pageants. Consequently, I have been around this culture quite a bit, and overwhelmingly they are sick people. I came to see that a lot of the exercising and eating behavior was attributable to serious personal problems, such as sexual abuse (in the case of the friend who put her worth on her sexual attractiveness to asinine gym guys), addictive personality types and substance abuse, eating disorders, and general low self-esteem. They all claimed to be all about health and fitness, but when we weren’t busy working out, we were at the beach so they could slather themselves with baby oil in the middle of a Florida summer, or clubbing so they could drink themselves into oblivion and have unsafe sex, or scoping out everybody in creation so they could see who they didn’t measure up to and figure out how to score some roids. The hypocrisy they didn’t see was unbelievable.

As obnoxious as some of these people may be, it is very important to remember when dealing with them and their judgmentalism that they are sick people, and that they are compulsively engaging in behavior to keep their problems at bay. It’s the old “It’s not them talking, it’s the drugs talking.” In this case, the drug is an obsession with appearance and the high of working out, but it is a drug all the same. They are not capable of thinking rationally and to pretend anything to the contrary just validates their personal sense of correctitude and keeps them in the state they’re in.

Her husband’s a military man, she’s insane, so the kids are going to grow up in a household that believes in rigid discipline and putting aside one’s personal indignation and opinions to conform to a behavioral standard that is dictated by an outside source. Maybe the kids will learn to look upon her with a sense of compassion and realize that she is sick. Hopefully they will be that wise.

I am pregnant with my children 7 th! (I’m mom of mateo 7, louane6, victoria, 5, wyatt 4, fausteen 3 and mabel an angel). my body is still perfect before my pregnancies. I always find my initial weight. my body is a gift. but in any case I allow myself to judge others. this woman is really arrogant. it makes me want to vomit!

Bottom line? Being physically fit does not mean that you are mentally fit. I would say this woman is an uneducated narcissist with several self-esteem issues. When people attack others, it normally comes down to unconscious attacks on yourself.

I believe if her initial photo had the tag:
It is possible!
You can too!
Join Me, We Can Do This Together! or something else positive and supportive, she wouldn’t have as much of the ugly backlash that she’s received.

In what universe is weighing over 100 pounds unhealthy? I’m 5’2″ and weighing 100 pounds or less would put me in an unhealthfully low weight range.

I get what she’s saying about obesity, but she doesn’t need to shame others or show off to make her point. She’s a self-aggrandizing braggart and kind of a moron to boot. You can be a healthy “every day mom” and even be in a healthy weight range and not have a six pack or the time to devote to achieving one. I had a baby 6 months ago, I’m 5 pounds above where I when I got pregnant and my stomach is still soft and flabby. I run, do yoga, eat healthfully, but I don’t have the time between my job and my son to spend hours working on my abs, most women don’t and there isn’t anything wrong with that.

If she’s going to judge others and be so vocal about her opinions, she should prepare herself for the same: to be judged by others who are voicing their opinions.
If she does suffer or has suffered from an eating disorder it’s even harder for me to refrain from saying, shut the heck up about other women’s weight issues..and mind your own business..I doubt one “overweight” person has decided to change anything about themselves after hearing her speak crap.